Many Jews went to Shanghai during the war because no visa was required for entry.

The International Committee for European Immigrants in China was founded on August 7, 1938 to assist Jewish refugees arriving in Shanghai from Nazi Germany. These forms gave refugees legal status in Shanghai and were used instead of passports since most Jewish immigrants had their passports confiscated or invalidated in Germany.

Bertha Wertheim, nee Katzenstein, was born in Eschwege, Germany in 1863 and died in Shanghai in 1942. She lived in Eisleben, Germany, with her husband, Moses, and two sons, Alfred and Adolf. Alfred was interned in the Buchenwald concentration camp in 1938. After his release, Bertha, Adolf, and Alfred escaped to Shanghai in May or June of 1939.